Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Umbrella Academy season 3
Why the Sparrow Academy’s numbering system is different from the Umbrella Academy. The Umbrella Academy season 3 introduced the Sparrow Academy, another group of seven children with powers who were adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves. From the Umbrella Academy’s very first meeting with them, however, it was obvious they were very different from the original Hargreeves — including their numbering system and the way they fought and trained.
The Sparrow Academy — Marcus, Ben, Fei, Sloane, Alphonso, Jayme, and Christopher, a telekinetic cube — were a result of the Umbrella Academy messing with the timeline while they were in the 1960s. After meeting them and realizing he’d messed up somewhere, Reginald seeks out a new group of seven to train in a bid to save the world. While the Sparrows have a numbering system like the Umbrella Academy, their setup is a bit different. With the Umbrella Academy, Reginald numbered his adopted children based on how useful he believed their powers to be. Once the numbers were set (they gave each other names later on), the Umbrella Academy’s ranks didn’t change. Such is not the case with the Sparrow Academy.
The Sparrow Academy’s numbering system seems to be based more on authority rather than whoever was chosen to be Number One. In The Umbrella Academy season 3, it’s revealed that Diego was given the opportunity to be Number One, but he was ultimately demoted back to being Number Two because he didn’t prove himself a capable leader. This alone suggests that the Sparrow Academy’s numbering system is malleable and doesn’t have to adhere to the way they were numbered as children. Ben had a shot at being Number One because Reginald may have wanted to see whether he had the skills and authority to be in the position. His demotion to Number Two confirms each member’s designation doesn’t have to remain that way, either, regardless of a promotion. It’s possible the system was put in place so that other Sparrow members could showcase their leadership skills in a variety of situations, though Ben seems to be the only one who took this route.
The fact that the Sparrow Academy isn’t as stringent when it comes to where they fall in line suggests Reginald has been open to changes, especially if he thought such alterations could maximize success for his mission. Not only is the Sparrow Academy’s number approach different from the Umbrella Academy’s, but the way they train and work together also stands out. They’re much more of a unit in combat and their daily routine is a lot more strict, whereas the Umbrella Academy is more dysfunctional and chaotic when fighting and have a hard time agreeing with each other.
With the Umbrella Academy, Luther (aka, Number One) has not been the ideal leader in Reginald’s eyes despite being first, with the majority of the plans being made by Five, who has decades of experience after time traveling to the future and working with the Commission. But that's also not something Reginald himself altered, only showing disappointment rather than a willingness to change the number arrangement. While the Sparrow Academy clearly grew up a bit differently than the original Hargreeves, The Umbrella Academy season 3 proved that, numbers or not, the siblings had to work together if their efforts were to be fully realized.